An Early Date at St Nicholas
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: By chance, six year old Harry meets Hermione in a Muggle hospital 'St. Nicholas.' How will this influence his future? A short story. Completely AU, mentioning of Abuse!Dursleys, sick!Harry
1. 1986

**An Early Date at St. Nicholas**

_I wrote this little story while I was in hospital with my notebook but without a dictionary or internet etc... So there might be more mistakes than usual - sorry for that!_

_**1986**_

"Harry! Harry, wake up," Petunia Dursley's voice penetrated Harry's ears. "When they send you home, you can tell them to call me and I'll collect you."

Feeling too weak to open his eyes, Harry merely breathed, "Yes." Sensing that the smell was very different from his cupboard, he lazily opened his eyes just a little bit, noticing that he was in a middle sized room with several benches and chairs all around and that his aunt had left him alone. '_Where am I?' _ he mused wearily, slowly closing his eyes again as the world around him began to turn.

An infinite time later, he heard an unknown voice call his name.

"Are you Harry?" a woman that clearly looked like a nurse asked him gently. "Where are your parents?"

Harry looked apathetically at the nurse. "My aunt said to call her when you let me go," he mumbled in exhaustion, musing, '_Whatever that means_.'

The nurse threw him a horrified look, but quickly straightened her features and asked softly, "I'm going to take you to your ward, Harry. Don't you have any luggage?"

Harry merely sighed in exhaustion. For a few days now, he had been feeling absolutely terrible. His body felt as if it was on fire, and he was always thirsty, but every tiny bit of water he drank found its way back out instantly.

"Are you able to stand up?" the friendly nurse queried, gently supporting his arm.

Harry really tried to comply, but he was so drained and weak that he couldn't muster the energy and only gave the nurse a lethargic look.

"All right then, I'll help you," she said soothingly, pulling a wheel chair over from somewhere, before she gently picked him up and lowered him into the chair, which she proceeded to push out of the room.

To his surprise Harry noticed that they headed out of the building, where he was hit by a bout of icy cold December air. Before he could wonder where they were heading though, the nurse brought him into a nearby building and through a huge elevator onto the second floor, where he was told to wait for a few minutes. He wearily watched how a girl, accompanied by her parents, was taken into the room right next to him, before an empty baby cot was wheeled out of the room.

Finally, an elder nurse came over to him and pushed his wheel chair into an examination room, where she sat him on a bed and did several things like take his pulse and his temperature that was extremely high. She also stuck a needle in the back of his left hand, taking blood from him, which was very painful. When he was back in the wheel chair, the nurse gave him a piercing look.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but we're completely full tonight. I have to put you into a room together with a girl. Since her parents are going to stay here, they might be willing to keep an eye on you as well. I can't understand how people can leave such a sick six-year-old all by himself."

Too exhausted and sick to care what was going to happen, Harry closed his eyes and drifted away, finding himself in a warm bed in a small room with two beds and a huge window when he blinked at the voice of a little girl.

"Hello, I'm Hermione, and I'm seven," the girl said from the other bed. "I'm here because of dehydration due to the stomach flu. I just arrived a few minutes ago, and they told me I have to stay for two days. Do you….?"

"Hermione, leave Harry in peace. You can see that he's feeling unwell," her mother interrupted her fast tirade in a lightly scolding voice.

Harry blinked gratefully at the girl's mother, before he shut his achy eyes again and let himself be lulled into sleep by the girl's babbling. An infinite time later, a female doctor came and brought him back into the examination room, where she looked into his throat and ears, and used a stethoscope to check his breathing, before she hooked him onto an I.V. "We're not exactly sure what's wrong with you," she told him in a gentle voice. You're suffering from dehydration and a very high fever, and according to the blood tests, you have a bad infection with a very high rate; however, we don't know which part of your body is infected. We'll do several more tests later on."

Finally, Harry was back in his bed, where Hermione began to inspect the bottles, from where water was dropping into the back of their hands, and after a precise calculation she decided that it would take seventeen hours until all of the water would be gone.

Harry noticed that the water felt soothing to his dry and hot body and tried to relax in spite of the pain he felt here and there. The voices of the small family at his side sounded calming to his ears. '_They sound so nice_,' he mused, slightly envying the girl for having such nice and caring parents.

Over the night, several nurses and doctors came to Harry, prodding him here and there, and at three o'clock in the morning, all of a sudden Harry felt that his stomach was very sore. The nice female doctor, who was just examining him, continued prodding him, trying to find out where exactly he was sore.

Hermione drifted in and out of sleep at the commotion just like her parents, who had retreated to the guest bed right in front of the windows. Mrs. Granger came over and sat on the edge of Harry's bed. "Could it be the appendix?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"I don't think so, but I'm not sure," the doctor replied pensively. "Harry, I want to do an ultrasound right now."

"Shall I come with you?" Mrs. Granger offered gently, causing Harry to throw her a grateful look.

"You should wear something warm; we have to go to a different building and it's cold outside," the doctor instructed her, before she wrapped Harry into the warm blanket he had on his bed and sat him onto the wheel chair.

Harry didn't only feel horrible, but he was extremely frightened at the sight of the ultrasound machine, and his whole body began to shake violently.

"It's all right, Harry," Mrs. Granger told him softly, taking his right hand in her own cool hand. "I'm going to stay here all the time, making sure that you're all right. The ultrasound won't hurt you."

'_She is so nice_,' Harry mused wearily. '_Never has anybody spoken to me so kindly_.'

It took nearly half an hour, before the doctor finally switched the machine off, stating, "I don't think that it is the appendix. Probably, it's a bad lung infection; a lung infection can have the effect that children throw up everything they drink too; however, we'll only know that exactly after taking an x-ray in the morning."

"Oh the poor child," Mrs. Granger replied, accompanying Harry back to the examination room, where the doctor took more blood of him, before she brought him back to his bed, where she added more bottles to the I.V.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the morning, after a very disturbed rest of the night due to the many check-ups and medicines Harry received, Mrs. Granger accompanied him to another ultrasound and the x-ray, where the doctors found out that he had indeed a lung infection. Nevertheless, from the afternoon onwards, Harry felt much better due to the strong medicine and slowly began to show reactions on Hermione's busy talking.

The two children noticed that Hermione was only ten months older than Harry. They told each other that they both didn't have real friends, and that they both liked books very much, even if Harry was hardly ever able to lay his hands on one.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the early evening, the nurse took the I.V. off Hermione, advising her to drink as much as she could, if she didn't want to receive more water the intravenous way. At Harry's bed though, she merely exchanged an empty bottle, causing the child to groan in annoyance. '_I hate that thing_,' he mused. '_I just wished all these bottles were already empty and this unnerving thing out of my hand_.'

To Hermione's and her parents' great surprise, all of a sudden a multiple alarm went off, because all of Harry's bottles were empty. The needle wasn't in Harry's hand anymore, where like on Hermione's hand a small plaster had replaced the gauze, which had still been there only a few minutes ago.

"What did you do?" the nurse asked, receiving no answer from Harry, who had drifted off in an exhausted sleep with a small smile playing on his lips.

"He can do strange things just like I can," Hermione whispered to her parents in complete amazement when the nurse finally left the room after connecting Harry to the I.V. once more.

"Yes sweetie, that display looked like magic," her mother agreed.

"Maybe you're a witch and he's a wizard," Mr. Granger joked, chuckling, throwing his wife a questioning glance, causing her to look back doubtfully.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

After a second, much quieter night, all of a sudden the door opened and a large man with a red robe and hat and a long white beard entered the room.

"Good morning, boys and girls. I heard that two very good children are in this room. Do you know who I am?" the man asked in a very deep but gentle voice.

"You look like Father Christmas," Harry said in a small voice, a terrified expression on his face.

"Yes, Father Christmas," Hermione echoed, smiling in amazement.

"I look like Father Christmas, that's right," the man answered. "However, I am St. Nicholas, and on the sixth of December, which is my birthday, I travel around just like Father Christmas and bring presents to the children, who have been good over the year."

"I was very good," Hermione blurted out eagerly, while Harry proceeded to bury his face in his arms.

"I'm sure that Harry behaved very well too," Mrs. Granger gently told the man, who produced a huge sack from behind his back, put a hand into the sack and handed a very happy Hermione a stuffed teddy bear.

Then St. Nicholas turned to Harry, pulling a stuffed dragon out of his sack. However, when he handed it to Harry, the child threw him a frightened look and said in a hardly audible voice, "Are… are you sure this is for me, sir? I… I'm not a good boy, although I try very hard every year. Father Christmas has never brought a present for me."

"Yes, I'm sure that this is for you, my boy," St. Nicholas replied with a frown on his face, "and I'll have to exchange a word with Father Christmas. I'm sure that you are a very good boy and deserve a present every year."

"Thank you!" Harry blurted out in absolute delight, cuddling the dragon close. '_I never received a present. St. Nicholas is such a good person_,' he mused, feeling extremely happy.

"Do you like to play?" St. Nicholas queried.

"I'd like to play, but nobody wants to play with me," Harry whispered.

"And why is that?" Mrs. Granger asked gently, taking his hand in hers.

"Because my cousin would beat anyone up, who played with me," Harry said softly, averting his eyes to the floor.

St. Nicholas handed Harry a small toy with the inscription 'Phase 10' on the box. "This might be a bit difficult, because you have to arrange numbers and it's for children from the age of ten upwards, but I'm sure that the nice girl here would love to play with you."

"Of course," Hermione spoke up eagerly. "Come Harry, let's have a look and try to play your new game." She climbed out of her bed and sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, throwing her mother a pleading look. "Mum, can you explain to us what we have to do?"

"Sure," Mrs. Granger replied, busying herself with the instructions.

Over the next few hours, the two children played peacefully together, and Harry felt happier than he had been ever before. His mind was so full with joy that night that he couldn't sleep at all, and while Hermione was fast asleep her parents used the time to question Harry about his home life.

"Harry, do you live together with you parents?" Mrs. Granger queried gently, causing Harry to sigh inwardly.

"No, my parents died when I was a baby, and I live with my relatives, who hate me," he explained in a small voice.

"Why would someone hate such a nice boy like you?" Mr. Granger spoke up unbelievingly, throwing Harry a questioning look.

"Because I sometimes do strange things like dying my teacher's hair blue or such, and they always say that I'm a freak because of these things."

"Hermione does these things as well, and both of you are definitely not freaks," Mrs. Granger told Harry with determination. "Do you live nearby?"

"I live in Little Whinging," Harry replied wearily, having no idea where they were.

"Then you're quite far from home," Mr. Granger stated. "I wonder why they didn't take you to a children's hospital nearby."

"Probably so that nobody would know them and could easily call them," Harry offered, causing both Grangers to frown.

"Harry, would you like to visit Hermione and us from time to time, if your relatives don't mind?" Hermione's mother enquired softly, gently stroking Harry's head.

"I'd like that very much," Harry replied happily, and a hopeful smile began to spread over his face. "The Dursleys will just be glad that I'm not there."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the morning, the doctors told the Grangers that they could take Hermione home.

"I want to go home, but I don't want to leave Harry alone. Can we take him with us?" Hermione asked eagerly, causing the doctor to look through the papers in her hands.

After a thorough examination on Harry, the doctor turned back to the Grangers. I'm afraid that I can't release Harry yet. However, since the main reason for him to remain here is that he needs to get his antibiotics the intravenous way I could let him go for a few hours each day."

"We can't promise you anything yet, Harry, since we have to ask your guardians first, but would you like to come with us a few hours each day?" Mr. Granger enquired, turning to Harry.

"I'd love to come with you, sir, if I'm not too much of a burden," Harry replied quietly, while his eyes began to twinkle happily.

"You're not a burden, sweetie," Hermione's mother reassured him, while her father went to phone the Dursleys.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Twenty minutes later, Mr. Granger was back with the news that Mr. Dursley had told him to do with Harry as he pleased and if possible to keep him forever.

"Well, then you may take Harry with you, provided that you bring him back at four o'clock in the afternoon for his next dose of medicine," a nurse told them, making Mr. Granger sign a paper stating that he was responsible for Harry while the child was away from the clinic.

Harry couldn't believe his luck. Hermione was his first real friend, especially as she seemed to be a freak just like him, and now he could spend several hours with a real family, who didn't despise him because of being a freak. '_I'm the happiest boy in the whole world_,' he mused when he slowly walked between Hermione and her mother, following Mr. Granger out to the car.

_

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tbc..._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them.  
__All recognizable characters belong to Mrs. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	2. Five Years Later 1991

**Five Years Later – 1991 **

"Harry, hurry up!" Hermione shouted from the basement to the second floor to her adopted brother, who had yet to come out of his room. "Look, what I got, Harry, come down!"

Hurrying down the stairs, Harry noticed a strange envelope in Hermione's hands. He curiously stepped over to her, giving her a peck on the cheek. "Happy Birthday, Mione!"

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione smiled, showing him the mysterious envelope.

"Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry," Harry read. "A school for witches and wizards?" he voiced incredulously. "Do you think we're a witch and a wizard, because we can do strange things?"

"Well, it seems so," Hermione replied, pulling a parchment out of the envelope.

"That sounds absolutely brilliant," Harry said in complete amazement after reading the letter. "Do you think I'll get such a letter too?"

"I'd think so, Harry. Maybe it's not by chance that it arrived exactly on my eleventh birthday, so that we might have to wait until your birthday to know if we can go to that school together. That would be absolutely fantastic."

"As much as I like our school here, I'd love to go to that school. Do you really think magic exists?" Harry asked pensively. "My relatives told me all the time that there was no such thing as magic."

"Why don't we just try it out? Since we now know that we're a witch and a wizard, we could try to practise doing magic," Hermione suggested. "Then we'd know for sure."

"All right, let me have a go," Harry laughed and concentrated on the parchment in his sister's hand, whishing that he had one too. Seconds later, another parchment was lying in front of him, looking exactly like Hermione's but with his name on it.

"Happy Birthday, Harry! Wake up, sleepy head!" his sister's voice pulled him out of his dream, causing him to lazily open his eyes, glancing around in confusion. '_It's her birthday and not mine_,' he mused sleepily.

"Get up you lazybones, you received a Hogwarts letter as well," Hermione cheered. "Oh Harry, I can't wait until we get there."

"Hermione, Harry!" their mother's voice suddenly called them. "Here is a visitor for you."

The two children hurried down the stairs and into the living room, which was decorated with many colourful balloons for Harry's birthday.

"I assume that you're going to take Harry too?" their mother just questioned a very strict looking elder lady, who threw her a confused look.

"Harry?" the woman enquired. "I didn't know that you have two children. Did Harry receive his Hogwarts letter as well?"

"Yes, this morning, Mme," Harry replied, stepping further into the room to hand the lady his letter.

"Harry!" the visitor blurted out at his sight. "Harry Potter! What are you doing here? Everyone assumes that you're living with your relatives."

"His relatives abused and neglected him, and we adopted Harry five years ago," Mrs. Granger explained in a gentle but firm voice, causing the elder lady to sigh in relief.

"Thank God that you were in good hands, Harry. I was so worried about you, but the Headmaster insisted to leave you with your aunt and forbid me to check on you, so that I couldn't do anything about it. Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Minerva McGonagall, and…"

"Oh, you're the Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts," Hermione interrupted her, slapping her hand over her mouth in shock at her disrespectfulness.

"And the Transfiguration professor," Harry added quietly.

"Yes, that is correct, Ms. Granger, and I knew your parents very well, Harry," McGonagall said, smiling. "Today, I came to inform you about magic and to help you do your shopping for school, although you already seem to know about magic."

Hermione laughed. "Yes Professor, right after we received my Hogwarts letter, we began to practise magic, and we even found a huge magical library room within the British library. Only we could get into the room though, our parents couldn't."

"And all the books we borrowed keep changing to random non magical books as soon as a Muggle is with us," Harry threw in eagerly.

"We didn't have a chance to go to Diagon Alley yet, because our parents wanted to wait if Harry received a letter from Hogwarts too."

"However, you know about Diagon Alley," McGonagall smiled. "I haven't met a Muggle born first year, who already knew so much about the magical world."

"We read a lot of books from the library room we found," Hermione explained enthusiastically. "My favourite book is '_Hogwarts: A History_' though."

"She already knows it by heart, and she made me read all the first year books and practise the first year spells," Harry threw in, causing McGonagall to laugh.

After a short breakfast, McGonagall took the Grangers to Diagon Alley and helped Harry and Hermione buy everything they needed for school. Before she returned to Hogwarts, she handed them their train tickets and explained how they could get on platform nine and three quarters to catch the Hogwarts Express.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

On the first of September, the Grangers brought two excited children to King's Cross, where they boarded the Hogwarts Express. They found a compartment, in which only a girl was sitting, who introduced herself as Susan Bones.

"Harry Granger-Potter and Hermione Granger," Hermione explained just when a timid boy entered the compartment.

"Hello, may I sit here? I'm Neville Longbottom."

"Hello Neville," Hermione replied warmly. "Of course you can sit with us. This is Susan Bones, and we are Harry Granger-Potter and Hermione Granger."

"Harry Potter?" Neville acknowledged. "My Granny told me about you. You're exactly one day younger than I, and our mothers were best friends at Hogwarts."

Harry groaned inwardly, throwing the boy a curious look at the same time. "That's cool, Neville. I'd love to know more about my birth mother. Mione, please only say Harry Granger, if you introduce me. I don't want to attract attention because of my birth name."

"All right, Harry," Hermione agreed in understanding.

By the time the train reached Hogsmeade, the four first years had become good friends. Together, they followed Hagrid's voice, which called them over to the lake, and boarded a boat.

"I can't wait to see the castle," Hermione said excitedly when Hagrid helped her into the boat.

"Just wait a few minutes and then you'll see her. She is beautiful," Hagrid explained, pointing his finger into the direction of the castle.

"Excuse me, but what are you exactly? A giant?" Hermione queried curiously, causing Harry to gasp.

"That's all right, I'm a half giant," Hagrid replied gently, before he took the last boat alone.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Thirty minutes later, the four friends walked behind Professor McGonagall and the other first years into the Great Hall, looking at the ceiling in amazement.

"Don't they have a ceiling here?" Neville enquired in confusion, causing Hermione to explain that the ceiling was charmed to look like the sky.

'_In which House am I going to be sorted_?' Harry mused. '_I just hope that I'll end up together with Mione_.'

Finally, Professor McGonagall called, "Granger, Harry," and Harry slowly walked up to the stool and let the teacher place the Sorting Hat on his head.

'_Oh my, this is difficult now_,' a soft voice suddenly penetrated his ear. '_Where am I going to sort you?_'

'_Could you please put me together with Hermione?_' Harry thought, causing the Hat to let out a long sigh.

'_I'm sorry, but since I didn't sort your sister yet, I don't know where I'll be sorting her, but I think I know what I'm going to do with you_,' the Hat told Harry, before he shouted into the Hall, "Ravenclaw."

Two minutes later, Hermione was sorted into Ravenclaw as well, while Susan and Neville ended up in Hufflepuff.

"I hope we'll still be able to be friends with Susan and Neville. I really like them," Harry whispered to Hermione, while they listened as their House mates introduced themselves to each other later in the common room.

"Well, we'll somehow manage. There should be a possibility to meet in the library or somewhere," Hermione replied soothingly. "Maybe we'll have even classes together. I'm just so happy that you and I are in the same House, little brother."

"That's right," Harry replied in relief, pulling his sister into an embrace. "Good night, Mione. I can't wait for school to start."

"Me too," Hermione replied, giving her brother a good night kiss.

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews - I really appreciate them!_

_To those, for whom it was unclear, Hermione's birthday was merely a memory taking place in Harry's dream! This story will continue in such an open way - the next chapter will be "Five years later" again.  
_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them.  
_

_All recognizable characters belong to Mrs. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. Five Years Later 1996

**Five years later – 1996**

"Harry, are you ready?" Hermione shouted into the fifth year boys' dormitory. "I'm sure Susan and Neville will already be waiting for us."

"I'm sorry, Mione," Harry replied quietly, following his sister out of the dormitory.

"Harry, are you feeling all right?" the girl asked in growing concern at the speed, in which her brother followed her through the empty corridors towards the entrance hall.

Harry sighed. "I don't feel particularly well, but it's not bad enough to miss a date with my wonderful sister," he gave back, wincing at the girl's stern expression.

Fortunately, they had already reached the entrance hall, where Susan and Neville were waiting patiently, so that Hermione left Harry in peace for the moment.

"Where do you want to go?" Hermione asked excitedly, causing Susan and Neville to smile at each other.

"We'd like to go on a date first and meet you for lunch at the Three Broomsticks," Neville replied, grinning. "Last night, Susan agreed to become my girlfriend."

"Oh, that's really good news," Hermione said warmly. "Congratulations, Susan and Neville, I'm so happy for you."

"Congratulations," Harry echoed, smiling at his friends.

"Thank you," Susan replied happily, leaning into Neville's embrace as they slowly walked down the road to Hogsmeade.

"By the way," Neville began hesitantly, throwing Harry a questioning glance, "Are you going as brother and sister, or are you having a date?"

Hermione blushed deeply, while Harry merely stared at Neville in confusion, before the meaning of his friend's question penetrated his mind. "Um… err… You know that Mione is my sister, don't you?" he finally mumbled, averting his eyes to the ground, so that he missed the slight expression of disappointment that flashed over Hermione's face.

When the four friends reached Hogsmeade, they agreed to meet at twelve o'clock for lunch, before they split up into two couples. Without even having to discuss where to go first, Harry and Hermione automatically headed to the bookshop, where they spent two hours, before Harry noticed that he couldn't keep himself on his feet anymore.

"Mione, do you think we could go and sit down somewhere? I'm a bit tired," he hesitantly told his sister, who threw him a piercing look, taking in his extremely pale face, deeply flushed cheeks, and glassy eyes.

"Harry, are you ill?" she asked worriedly, quickly returning the book she was just looking at to the shelf, before she laid a cool hand on his forehead, feeling that he was burning up. "Harry, do you think you can walk back to Hogwarts?"

"It's all right, let's just sit down somewhere for a moment," Harry replied, shivering violently as they left the bookshop and returned to the main street.

Hermione quickly pulled him into the Three Broomsticks and made him sit at a small table. "Do you want something to eat or drink?" she queried, throwing her brother a sceptical look at his reply, before she went to the counter and ordered a Butterbeer for her brother and a Cola light for herself. It took a few minutes, before she came back, immediately explaining her tardiness, "I asked Madam Rosmerta to tell Susan and Neville that we had to return to Hogwarts, and she offered that we could use her fireplace to floo over to the Headmaster's office, if you were not well enough to walk back all the way."

"I could just floo home. I'd love to see Mum and rest in my own bed for a while," Harry said thoughtfully, resting his head on his arms, after taking a sip from his glass.

"Harry, you know that we're not allowed to go home, but I don't mind. We can return to Hogwarts in the evening. Let's go then." Hermione gently steadied her brother, knowing that he had to feel really bad if he admitted it in such a way, and helped him over to the fireplace, climbing in together with him. "The Grangers' Home," she shouted, throwing in the Floo powder.

An instant later, Hermione and Harry found themselves on the floor of the living room at home. "Mum, Dad," Hermione shouted, only to realize that their parents had obviously gone out. '_Let's just hope they'll come back during the next few hours_,' she mused and proceeded to help Harry up the stairs and into his bed. "Harry, do you want to change into pyjamas?" she queried, observing her brother in concern.

"No, we have to go back to Hogwarts later on anyway. I hope Mum and Dad will return soon," Harry mumbled, closing his achy eyes.

"I'm going to call Mum on her mobile phone, Harry, wait a moment." She gently tucked her brother in, before she hurried out of the room and down the stairs.

Two minutes later, Hermione was back, sitting on the edge of Harry's bed. "I reached Mum. They've gone shopping, but she said they'll come back immediately and should be here in about thirty minutes. Now Harry, open your mouth and let me take your temperature," she ordered him sternly, switching the thermometer on.

Harry struggled a bit to sit up and took the thermometer out of her hands, placing it on the night table. "Mione, I'd like to speak with you first," he said in a quiet but slightly hoarse voice. Seeing that she was listening, he continued, "You know what Neville asked me this morning, don't you?"

"You mean if we went as siblings or as a date?" Hermione asked back, unable to prevent her cheeks from taking on a pink colour.

"Yes, I meant that, and I thought, I mean… I just thought to ask you if you'd mind if we went as a date? I know that you're my sister, and you'll always be my sister and best friend, but since you're not my sister by birth, maybe you could also become my girlfriend. Does that make sense? I'm sorry, I…"

"Harry, it's all right," Hermione interrupted him gently. "I love you as my brother, but I think there's more to it, and I'd love to be your girlfriend as well.

"Really?" Harry asked with a small smile playing on his lips.

"Yes, really," Hermione replied softly, pressing a kiss against his forehead, gasping at the heat he radiated. "Harry, open up," she commanded, sticking the thermometer under his tongue, before she headed to the bathroom and returned with a wet cloth. She gently wiped her brother's forehead, noticing that he gratefully leaned into the cold touch.

Just when the thermometer beeped, they heard their parents come through the entrance door. '_Thank God, Mum is back_,' Harry mused, before he was pulled out of his thoughts when Hermione gasped, "40.6 (105) degrees, that's a terribly high fever."

"What's wrong that you come home during the school year?" Mrs. Granger enquired worriedly, rushing into the room.

"Mum, we were in Hogsmeade, and Harry all of a sudden felt too ill to walk back to the castle. I thought about taking the Floo to the Headmaster's office, but Harry wanted to come home. Mum, he has a fever of 40.6 (105) degrees. What are we going to do?"

"Calm down, Mione, I'll be all right," Harry mumbled weakly, sighing in relief when he felt his mother's cool hand stroking his flushed cheeks.

"Harry, does anything hurt?" Mrs. Granger asked, watching the boy in concern, frowning as memories of a very ill six-year-old appeared in the front of her mind.

Harry slightly shook his head. "I just don't feel so well."

"All right, I'm going to floo-call Madam Pomfrey," Mrs. Granger announced. "She'll better be able to help you than a Muggle doctor, and she already knows you well, Harry. Hermione, can you stay with your brother please?"

"Of course, Mum. Why do you think I came home with him?" Hermione countered, shaking her head, while she proceeded to sit down on the edge of Harry's bed and spoke to him in a soothing voice.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Granger returned with Madam Pomfrey in tow, who merely threw a glance in Harry's face, before she began to cast several diagnostic spells at the boy.

"Lung infection," she finally stated. "I should take you with me to the hospital wing."

"Can't I stay here?" Harry asked weakly, slowly turning his eyes to the Mediwitch, who sat down next to him and examined his throat, ears, and chest the Muggle way.

"Since when have you been feeling unwell, Mr. Granger?" Pomfrey asked sternly.

"About a week," Harry replied in a small voice, causing the Mediwitch to let out an exasperated groan.

"Would it be possible to keep Harry here, so that I could look after him, if you tell me what to do?" Mrs. Granger queried gently, causing Pomfrey to sigh.

"He has to be constantly monitored, but since I could do that the magical way, it won't be a problem. However, I'll have to floo here and check on him three times a day. It's good that you're connected to the Floo network."

"Please Madam Pomfrey, I want to stay here with Harry," Hermione turned to Pomfrey. "Is that possible?"

"I have to return to Hogwarts to ask Professor Snape to urgently brew a potion for Harry anyway. In the meantime, I'll speak to Professor Flitwick… Oh no, he might still be in Hogsmeade. Well, in that case I'll ask Professor McGonagall, but I don't think anyone would mind you miss a week of classes, Ms. Granger. I'll be back as soon as possible." She made Harry drink a fever reducing potion and hurried back to Hogwarts.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

On the next day, Hermione and her mother sat on the edge of Harry's bed, watching over their youngest family member. "Thank you Mum, for letting us stay here and taking time off to watch over Harry."

"You can stay here anytime. It's your home," Mrs. Granger replied in surprise. "I'm glad that Harry wanted to come home instead of going back to school when he fell ill."

"Well, he felt so bad that he wanted you to be with him. By the way, would you find it very strange, if Harry and I became girlfriend and boyfriend?"

Mrs. Granger let out a gasp, sighing. "On one hand, I'd find it strange since you're both my children, but on the other hand I'd appreciate it. It's your decision anyway. Did you and Harry speak about the matter?"

Hermione told her mother about the conversations between Neville and Harry and Harry and her, before she hesitantly asked, "Do you think it was only because of his high fever that he…?" She slowly trailed off.

Her mother laughed. "No sweetie, he wouldn't have asked you if he didn't feel that way, and I'm sure that his decision to ask you had nothing to do with his illness. But if that's what you really want, why don't you wait until Harry is completely back to health and ask him if he meant it, love?"

"That's probably the best idea," Hermione admitted pensively, leaning into her mother's embrace. "Thank you, Mum."

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them.  
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_All recognizable characters belong to Mrs. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	4. Five Years Later 2001

**Five Years Later – 2001 **

"Ginger frogs," Harry told the gargoyle that guarded the Headmistress' office and followed Hermione up the stairs with his two-year-old daughter Lena sitting on his shoulders, from where she happily squealed as she found a white hair between her father's black hairs.

"Harry, Hermione, come in please," Headmistress McGonagall welcomed them. "I hope you had a good holiday?"

"Yes, it was fantastic. We visited many interesting places in Italy, and Lena enjoyed being spoilt by her grandparents," Hermione explained, smiling at her favourite teacher.

"Yes, and our father told her that I can transform into a griffin and give her a piggy ride, so that I had to spend half of the time in my Animagus form," Harry groaned, glaring at his wife.

"Well, that's not my fault. I can't transform into an animal," Hermione replied innocently.

"But it's your fault. It was you, who told them that I'm an Animagus," Harry growled, causing Lena to throw him a huge smile.

"Lena lovv Papa piggywide."

McGonagall smiled at the little tyke, pulling her onto her lap, before she turned back to the parents. "I called you because of what Harry told me right before the holidays. Do you really want to share the Head of House position with your wife, Harry?"

Harry sighed. "Yes, Minerva, I think it would be the best solution, and it has two reasons." He hesitated a moment, causing Hermione to interrupt him.

"I don't know if Poppy informed you, but since his last lung infection five years ago, he keeps getting sick once a month," Hermione said, causing her husband to glare at her, before he hurried after Lena, who was just inspecting one of the inviting bookshelves.

"Well, that's one reason, and the other reason is," Hermione continued, "that I always wished for a female Head of House. If for example you had been my Head of House, I'm sure I'd sought you out several times, although I didn't want to go to Professor Flitwick with the same problem. Therefore, we thought it might be good to have two Heads for Ravenclaw, especially as we're married and able to work together perfectly."

"Frankly speaking, I've never thought about that, but it might be a good idea, and you have my consent if you want to go through with that plan," McGonagall replied gently.

"Concerning Harry's condition I'm of course informed as are all the other teachers since he already had this problem during your last school years and because I'm taking over his classes when he is ill."

"Oh, I thought that was one of the reasons why you invented the position of the students' counsellor for Susan when she married Neville and he replaced Professor Sprout as Herbology teacher and Hufflepuff Head of House," Hermione replied in surprise. "I thought Susan was taking over all the classes, if someone was ill."

"No, Susan only teaches Remus' Defence Against the Dark Arts class once a month, and she took over your Charms class when Lena was born or when you were sick before, but she can't teach Transfiguration." McGonagall sighed, before she continued, "Frankly speaking, I enjoy teaching Transfiguration from time to time. I also look after Gryffindor House when Remus is indisposed. However, I'm glad to have so many young and brilliant teachers for all the core subjects."

Suddenly, Harry let out a huge gasp, when he realized what his daughter was doing. Lena was sitting on the floor with her back against the bookshelf and looked straight at the Sorting Hat, which slowly hovered from his usual spot on the shelf down to the little girl, finally landing on her head.

'_What do you want? You're much too young to be sorted_,' the Hat thought to the girl.

'_I'd like to know in which House I belong. Mummy and Daddy told me everyone had to be sorted into Houses. And I want to know what you're doing on the shelf all the time. Aren't you bored? Can you read? Do you know what's in all the books around you? I'd love you to tell me a story. I'm sure you know many stories_,' the two-year-old thought back to the Hat.

'_I told you, I can't sort you yet_,' the Hat replied firmly.

'_You have to, or I will tell my Daddy_.'

"You're an annoying busybody just like your mother is an annoying know-it-all, and just like your parents you shall be in Ravenclaw if you must," the Hat finally shouted, causing Minerva, Hermione, and Harry to stare at it.

McGonagall threw the Hat an annoyed glare. "Who told you to sort a two-year-old?" she queried in her strictest professor's voice.

"The girl summoned me onto her head, so that I had to sort her," the Hat replied.

"There's no need to sort a two-year-old, and who allowed you to insult the child and her parents?" McGonagall continued, but the Hat merely returned to his shelf without bothering to answer.

"Harry, Hermione, I believe that it's time to abolish the Hat. From now on, the students should decide by themselves to which House they want to belong. What do you think?"

"I think that's a brilliant idea, especially as it was always possible to convince it to sort someone into a different House from the one, which it first suggested," Hermione voiced her opinion. "In fact, the Hat wanted to sort me into Gryffindor, but I wanted to be together with Harry and begged it to sort me into Ravenclaw."

"I don't know, I've nothing to complain," Harry said thoughtfully, glancing at the Hat that sat quietly on its shelf.

The Headmistress turned to the portraits behind her. "Albus, I don't know if you followed our conversation, but what do you think?"

"Well, Minerva, the Hat was always a good companion, but yes, you're right as always, my dear." Dumbledore raised his wand, pointing it to the Hat. "Silencio Eterna."

'_And I can still think to people_,' Harry heard a small voice in his mind, '_but please don't tell them. Maybe I can still be of use like this_.'

Harry threw the Hat a comforting look, slightly nodding his consent.

HP

**Five years later**… Ravenclaw House held as many students as all the other Houses together.

"If this continues, we'll have to close Slytherin completely," McGonagall informed her colleagues in a staff meeting, causing Harry to frown.

He prepared a questionnaire, which he asked all of the Ravenclaws to answer, who had been sorted during the last five years, finding out that ninety-nine percent of the students chose his House with the reason, 'the best Heads of House at Hogwarts.'

Handing the Headmistress the questionnaire, Harry told her, "Minerva, we should re-introduce our Sorting by the Sorting Hat."

"But he can't speak anymore, and the spell Albus cast can't be reversed."

"The Hat can still think to people, at least he can think to me," Harry replied, glancing at the Hat.

From the next school year onwards, the traditional Sorting ceremony was reinstalled and took place every year. The Hat couldn't shout anymore, but he thought the result of the Sorting to Harry, who voiced each of the Hat's decisions. From that time onwards, the Hat never let students talk him into a certain House, and it always sorted the students equally into the four Houses, so that none of the Houses came in danger of being closed or held too many students within its walls.

HP

**Fifty years later**… Harry replaced Minerva McGonagall as Headmaster, while his third grandchild David followed him as Transfiguration professor and Ravenclaw Head of House together with his grandmother Hermione.

"Thank God the Dursleys left me alone at St. Nicholas Hospital that night, exactly seventy years ago," Harry said to Hermione one night. "Everything took a turn for the better at that time."

"That's right," Hermione agreed yawning. "Are you going to play St. Nicholas again in the Great Hall tomorrow morning?"

"Of course, Mione. You know that I do that every year," Harry replied, grinning. "He was the first person to give me a present, and who knows if there are students in this castle, who never received a present yet?"

"I love you, sweetie. Good night," Hermione smiled, nestling deeper into her brother's and husband's arm.

**The End**

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Thank you for your kind words throughout this story! I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them.  
__All recognizable characters belong to Mrs. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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